I had a professional fit for my bike and I’m very happy with my current position. I’m not happy with my saddle so I wanna swap it out for a different one. But I’m worried I won’t get it in the identical or nearly identical position, just wondering if people have any tips for doing this.
That’s tricky. If the saddle is “similar”, I don’t think big adjustments are necessary. On the other hand, the fact that you are replacing your current saddle indicates you are not happy and you want something quite different.
I’d try to recreate the current setup (horizontal and vertical position, inclination, etc.) and see how you get along. If not, I’d consult your bike fitter. I’m sure he’ll accommodate you without charging a full fitting session.
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Getting vertical position is easy, it’s the horizontal that I need help with
Yes, although sometimes you need to adjust the vertical position. E. g. my new MTB saddle is higher than the old one it was replacing, and I had to lower my saddle by a centimeter or so to compensate. Not saying it is hard, but you have to keep that in mind.
If you have trouble doing it yourself, just consult the bike fitter again. Perhaps they can also help with choosing a saddle that is suitable for your derriere. It isn’t exactly unusual that as a result of a bike fit you change up some of the contact points and the stem.
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When it comes to setting the tilt, different saddles may have different locations where to measure with the level. Here for example is a video on Fizik saddles. For height and fore/aft, you need to measure off of where your sit bones contact the saddle ( i.e. try to get old and new the same)
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I measure from the back of the saddle to the same spot on the hoods. Not perfect with different saddles but, probably better than measuring nose of saddle to bar…
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This makes it easy if you have a tool fetish like I do:
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Find on the old saddle where it is 80mm wide. Measure how far that line is from a suitable fixed point on the bike. Personally I would use the rear edge of the stem cap. Find the same width location on the new saddle and when the new saddle is on the bike locate that width line the same distance from the fixed point as the old saddle was.
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This is the right way as long as the saddles are similar shape. If you’re going from a traditional road saddle shape to something like an ISM this may not work out.